MINNEAPOLIS --- ATK (Alliant Techsystems) has received a $32.9 million contract from General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products, a business unit of General Dynamics, to produce MK 90 propellant grain used in the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS). Production will take place at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP) in Radford, Va.
Wayne Farley, president, ATK Ammunition and Powder, said the APKWS contract combined with additional RAAP programs such as ATK’s $130 million Flexible Energetics production (TNT) and the Medium Caliber M910E1 development contract are helping ATK transform RAAP into a 21st Century flexible munitions, energetics, and propellant manufacturing center.
“ATK is the nation’s leader in the development and production of low-cost, low-smoke tactical rocket propellants for use in programs such as APKWS,” said Farley. “We are a proud supplier of ammunition, propellants and more for U.S. forces and our allies, and we look forward to building on our relationship with General Dynamics as they explore next-generation enhancements to APKWS.”
The APKWS comprises a family of 2.75-inch rockets both guided and unguided, and is the most widely used helicopter weapon system in the world. A large number of rotary and fixed-wing platforms, including the U.S. Army Apache and U.S. Marine Cobra helicopters, the U.S. Air Force F-16 and the combat aircraft of more than 15 allied nations, depend on APKWS to defeat soft to lightly armored enemy targets.
ATK is a $2.2 billion aerospace and defense company with strong positions in propulsion, composite structures, munitions, precision capabilities, and civil and sporting ammunition. The company, which is headquartered in Edina, Minn., employs approximately 12,500 people and has three business groups: Aerospace, Precision Systems, and Ammunition and Related Products.
